Dark secret: Bali's hidden shame

MILLIONS of tourists visit Bali every year, with a vast number of these coming from Australia. But the Indonesian island paradise is harbouring a dark secret.

An undercover investigation by World Animal Protection has found 100 per cent of venues with captive animals, including elephants, tigers, orang-utans and dolphins, don't meet the basic needs of animal captivity.

Ben Pearson, senior campaign manager for World Animal Protection, told news.com.au: "We chose Bali [to investigate] cause that's where most Australians go on holiday and we were shocked at how bad the conditions were.

"The most concerning thing about these findings is that all venues are inadequate. At least with countries like Thailand, we can say, 'Yes go to this one, but don't go to this venue.'"

This chained monkey was photographed at a turtle venue in Bali. It was deemed a ‘side attraction.’ Picture: World Animal Protection

Often the process will involve severe restraint so that the elephant only moves when commanded by the carer. Severe pain is often inflicted to quickly establish dominance. This process can take between a few days to a week.

A bullhook lies near an elephant on a short chain. Bullhooks are used on sensitive areas of the body, such as elephants’ ears and eyes, and the feet and trunk.

To stop the cruel practices, and ultimately safeguard wildlife, World Animal Protection is calling on Australian companies to stand up to the attractions.

Mr Pearson said: "We contacted Flight Centre and Qantas, because we saw a lot of promotions for wildlife attractions. It was really quite concerning, because they were describing the experiences in glowing terms.

"Both companies came back to us and said they would take the content down and audited their website to remove any articles promoting elephant riding."

However, while this is a positive first step, he maintains it isn't enough.

"What's disappointing is we need a more comprehensive wildlife policy which looks at the type of venues promoted and then looks at how to educate tourists as to what is good and what is bad.

"While the two companies audited and then removed their content, they are not going to the next step. We really need a big iconic Australian brand like Qantas to be a leader in this space."

There have been documented cases of tourists dropping turtles in wildlife venues, which could potentially injure the creature and do damage to its shell.

Qantas told news.com.au: "We've been in dialogue with World Animal Protection in relation to their campaign. They've shared with us several overseas animal and wildlife venues which, while popular with tourists, are believed to have poor standards of animal welfare. Qantas will no longer promote these venues on our digital channels."

Flight Centre also told news.com.au via a statement that they audit thousands of suppliers and tour operators to identify any issues pertaining to animal welfare. They focus on working with suppliers to improve their offerings, and should they not improve, they are removed from site.

In regards to developing a long-term wildlife policy, Haydn Long, global media and investor relations manager, told news.com.au: "I am sure we will look at it in due course - World Animal Protection floated this idea with us just last week.

"We have a long history of working proactively with World Animal Protection and we have similar beliefs in many ways, but we cannot immediately make some of the changes that it wants us to make to better educate the travelling public overall."

These two civets kept at a Kopi Luwak coffee venue barely have enough room to turn around. Civets at several other venues displayed self-mutilation through tail biting.

Individual tourists are urged to be part of the solution by making ethical travel choices. World Animal Protection asks travellers to avoid these venues and any travel companies that promote or support captive wildlife encounters.

"If you can ride, hug, or have a selfie with a wild animal, the chances are that animal has been subjected to cruelty," Mr Pearson said.

While travellers may leave with a photo, it's the wildlife that pays the true price. Where is the paradise in that?